Celebrating Songkran in Thailand

If you’re going to be in Thailand soon, prepare to get soaked! Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year water festival that takes place in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand from the 13th to 15th April in 2014, although some cities celebrate over a longer period.

A Theravāda Buddhist festival, it’s also celebrated in many other parts of Southeast Asia and the Sub-Continent although it has different names. In Cambodia it’s called Chaul Chnam Thmey and the first day is Maha Songkran; in Laos, it’s known as Pi Mai Lao; and in Myanmar, it’s called Thingyan.

As we were travelling when we were last in Thailand during Songkran we got to experience a little of the festival in each of Bangkok, Chiang Rai, the Mekong river, and Luang Prabang, which gave us a taste of the different traditions and rituals that take place during the three to four day period, stretched out to six days in Chiang Mai.

For some, the event is just one big water fight and if you’re in Thailand you can certainly expect to get wet, no matter how hard you might try to avoid it. Locals will be holding garden hoses and bucket of waters outside their homes and businesses, poised to drench passer-bys and passing cars. If they’re not at street level, they’ll be found with friends jammed in the back of pick-ups or tuk tuks with huge tubs of water, cruising around town firing their sophisticated looking water pistols at unsuspecting people.

Seconds before the photo was taken above that drenched group of young Thais in Chiang Rai had just thrown a bucket of water on our taxi. But it’s not only water that’s tossed about. Thais love to douse each other in talcum powder, which is why you’ll see white-faced locals, their skin smeared with a dough-like paste. If you see locals wandering the streets with a bottle of baby powder in their jeans pocket, stay well clear.

While wet streets won’t turn too many heads, if you’re planning on catching Bangkok’s BTS/Skytrain, don’t be surprised to find yourself standing in milky puddles by the end of the night. Leave your best shoes at the hotel and wear flip-flops or sandals.

In fact, wear the worst clothes you’re travelling with – that daggy t-shirt you wear to bed and those shorts you’re planning to discard to make room for souvenirs before you fly back home. Definitely don’t wear delicates, anything that might shrink or black – depending on the fabric, talcum powder can be tricky to get out.

In Bangkok, you are fair game anywhere and everywhere outside your hotel, although the main action has always taken place in the ‘entertainment’ area of Silom Road (preferred by Thais) and the backpacker enclave of Khao San Road (more popular with tourists).

In 2013, the government established official water-fight areas and introduced some rules, such as banning iced water and high-powered water guns. See this tongue-in-cheek take on those new regulations from the Bangkok Post on The 10 Commandments of Songkran.

Songkran is not only about water fights, although it’s no coincidence that the festival occurs during Thailand’s driest and hottest month before monsoon begins. Songkran is essentially about new life, clean breaks, fertility, and regeneration, and in rural areas festivities include rituals and rites intended to bring on rain to ensure a good rice harvest.

The idea of throwing water during Songkran is about cleansing and making a fresh start. Buddhists head to wats (temples) where they sprinkle nam ob tha (jasmine-centred water) on the hands of monks and Buddha images and participate in other merit-making rituals.

Merit-making rituals include preparing food for monks and making sand stupas which are decorated with colourful strings of flags imprinted with the animals from the Oriental zodiac and garlands of flowers. Buddhists will also clean their homes and businesses, buy new clothes, and visit their families.

To experience the more traditional Songkran activities, head to a wat during the Songkran period. In Bangkok, on the first day of Songkran there is usually a procession from Sanam Luang, opposite the Grand Palace, from where the sacred Buddha image is carried through the streets.

Major temples such as Wat Pho and Wat Arun will be bustling with Thais making merit. While you’re welcome to watch, make sure you dress modestly – the clothes you wear to the water fights will not be appreciated at the wats.

OUR SONGKRAN TIPS

* In 2014, the Songkran holiday runs from the 13th to 15th April when in Bangkok when it begins with a Songkran parade although in some places in Thailand it runs through to 17th April. Dates vary in different cities and provinces, so check www.tourismthailand.org for details.

* Do wear clothes that you don’t mind getting wet and wear layers so they don’t cling too much. Definitely do NOT wear bikinis, girls, and guys, it is not appropriate to go bare-chested. This is a religious festival after all.

* Leave valuables in the hotel safe and take some cash, your hotel key, passport photocopies, and camera in a sealed plastic bag. Street vendors sell handy waterproof pouches and wallets that you can wear around your neck.

* Take the BTS (Skytrain) or MRT (metro/underground train) as traffic is usually horrific.

* Learn how to say “Sawasdee Pee Mai!” – Happy New Year in Thai.

* If you forget to pack your water pistol, don’t worry, you’ll find plenty of vendors selling them on the streets.

* Don’t throw water on monks, the elderly, babies, or motorcyclists – for obvious reasons.

* Take bottles of water to wash the talcum powder from your eyes.

* For more information, including dates, times and locations of events during Songkran, see Thai-based blogger Richard Barrow’s excellent site where he has plenty of detailed posts on different aspects of the festival, including maps. Also see my post on Celebrating Thai New Year on the Four Seasons Magazine website.

Author

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, The Guardian, National Geographic Traveller, Wanderlust, Get Lost, Travel+Leisure Asia, DestinAsian, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored some 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

I thought they celebrated for 6 days in Chiang Mai? Although Chiang Mai’s a big city now, they tend to celebrate for longer in rural areas because they still tie it to the traditional rituals/rites associated with calling for rain. Some of the small villages have quite wild celebrations from what we’ve heard. Need to check more out. Thanks for dropping by!

I had a great time celebrating Songkran Festival! It was my first time ever and it was amazing, although I didn’t know you can’t splash water to the cyclists because I was splashed all the time driving to a friend’s place so I did the same! LOL I didn’t do it harsh to harm though, just for fun!

It was our second time in Phuket, and we were on Bangla Road for hours just having the greatest time! It is truly a wonderful tradition! We went prepared – wearing rain coats, goggles, water balloons and 2 water guns each and came back soaked, wearing only goggles and a gun each! Great times!

Those rules – don’t splash cyclists, drivers in cars, etc – are all new this year. It would have been interesting to see if and how they enforced them. So pleased to hear you had a great time also. Thanks for visiting us!

I was in Laos 7 years ago this week, and a cute little local girl walked off her front porch and through a whole glass of water on me, with the biggest small on her face. I was with another female friend and we were hopelessly lost in a residential area, it was the strangest thing! I have often wondered over years about this little girl because she had a look of pure joy as she soaked the foreigner. Now, it makes sense. Thank you!

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Globetrotting professional travel writing and photography team Lara Dunston and Terence Carter are on a contemporary grand tour of the globe. They're living like locals, travelling slowly and sustainably, doing and learning, and, wherever possible, giving something back to the places they visit. They're on a quest to explore more authentic and enriching ways to travel. Their mission is to make travel more meaningful and memorable. Read more about Lara and Terence here.